Kansas City Chiefs tackle Eric Winston lashed out at his teams fans that cheered when teammate Matt Hassel was injured during their loss to Baltimore Sunday.
When Hassel got hammered to the field by Ravens’ tackle Haloti Ngata, he lay on the turf seeking to get his bearings. Many fans at Arrowhead Stadium cheered. And Winston was livid.
“It’s 100 percent sickening,” Winston said. “I’ve never, ever — and I’ve been in some rough times on some rough teams — I’ve never been more embarrassed in my life to play football than at that moment right there. I get emotional about it because these guys, they work their butts off. Matt Cassel hasn’t done anything to you people.”
Cassell was eventually able to get to his own feet and walk off the field without any assistance. He was later diagnosed by team doctors with a concussion and likely will not play on Sunday.
Concussions have been the primary focus of the NFL for the last couple of years. The NFL has gone as far as moving kickoffs up to the the 35-yard line to minimize the number of kick returns. The NFL is currently facing lawsuits from over 3,300 players due to the side effects of concussions that cost them down the road.
“We are not gladiators and this is not the Roman Colosseum. This is a game,” Winston said. “This is a game that’s going to cost us a lot down the road. That’s OK. We picked it. We deserve it. I don’t want your pity. But we’ve got a lot of problems as a society if people think that’s OK.”
The fans of Kansas City have been disgruntled with Cassel of the last couple of years, expecting to get the Cassel of the 2008-09 season with the New England Patriots, where he threw for 3,693 yards, 21 touchdowns and led them to a 11-5 record. His first two seasons he threw for a total of 6,040 yards and 43 touchdowns. Last year he only threw for 1,713 yards and 10 touchdowns finishing with an overall record of 7-9.
His teammates said it does not matter what he has done.
“It’s not right, you know what I’m saying? I’ll speak that for any stadium, any player to get hurt,” said Chiefs running back Jamaal Charles. “When someone gets booed, it’s not right. It’s his health. You know what I’m saying? He got hurt. You have to respect. it wasn’t right that he got booed.”
